The following project activities were carried out:

- A baseline study was conducted within the project site to determine the existing physical and socio-economic characteristics of the target area and target groups. The information gathered from the study will help to guide the Barbados Marine Trust in developing and implementing the project, as well as assist in adequately measuring the effectiveness and success of the project.


Results per Project Activity

ACTIVITY 1: Reef Ball Gardens

OUTPUTS
? Reef Ball reef of 32 units created at 1 site

OUTCOMES
? Artificial reef should blossom into a ?garden? given the observed initial rate of marine life colonization
? A deep snorkel or shallow SCUBA dive attraction created that can serve to supplement livelihoods and educate


ACTIVITY 2: Livelihoods

OUTPUTS
? Tour guide training developed as sea and land tours 3 week course
? Professional walking tour guide training successfully completed by 5 people and tested in practice

OUTCOMES
? Increased environmental awareness and knowledge of participants
? Environmental beach walking tour put on for visiting conference delegates demonstrated tour marketability


ACTIVITY 3: Wildlife Safe Operator (WiSe) Programme

OUTPUTS
? Training developed specially for small-boat operators offering tours

OUTCOMES
? Community interest in accreditation included environmental awareness and appreciation for sustainable livelihoods


ACTIVITY 4: Change in Government Policy

OUTPUTS
? Meetings were held with marine authorities and verbal buy-in was received for the project purpose
? One site (Hoyte?s Reef) available for community stewardship in the future if supported by legislation

OUTCOMES
? Government authorities sensitised to potential of community-based marine stewardship but not supported by local legal and policy framework


ACTIVITY 5: Public Awareness

OUTPUTS
? Public education and mass media communication materials produced (e.g. newsletter, Educational seminars, mass media coverage of project events)

OUTCOMES
? Increased environmental awareness by cross- section of the general public



PROJECT CHALLENGES
? Limited human capacity of the grantee to undertake the scope of work required for the project.
? Moderate to low interest in project by several stakeholders was experience throughout the project cycle.
? Existing conflicts amongst the community groups in Oistins and other stakeholders impacted on the grantee?s ability to bring all relevant entities together, to work towards achieving the project goals and objectives
? Receiving planning permission from the local authorities to deploy the reef balls was a protracted process and final permission was subjected to highly restrictive conditions. Additionally, the long delay resulted in a loss of staffing capacity as funds were not available to pay personnel over the delayed period.
? The current laws and policies of Barbados do not provide for local area management and there is limited support for community managed marine protected areas among state agencies.


LESSONS LEARNED
? An assessment of capacity is a prerequisite to all projects.
? Learning is a process of analysis, reflection, synthesis and a willingness to learn.
? The full and sustained support of government agencies is required for projects which deal with the commons (Coastal Zone). For project of this kind, ministerial support should be sought from inception.
? NGO?s with limited capacity like BMT, should focus their attention for results.
? The insider/outsider dynamic should be factored into community planning processes. In this case community sensitivities were not identified or understood.